Rights groups urge Burma to end strife

BURMA

Updated 10:58 pm, Saturday, October 27, 2012

A police officer stands guard at a Muslim refugee camp in Sittwe, the capital of Rakhine state.

A police officer stands guard at a Muslim refugee camp in Sittwe, the capital of Rakhine state.

Photo: Khin Maung Win, Associated Press

Rights groups urge Burma to end strife

1 / 1

Back to Gallery

Sittwe, Burma --

Human rights groups urged an end of sectarian violence in western Burma on Saturday, with one releasing satellite photos of what it said was an entire section of a town apparently burned to the ground by a marauding mob.

A government spokesman for the region affected by almost a week of ethnic strife said the area was calm. Rakhine state spokesman Win Myaing said no new clashes were reported between Rakhine Buddhists and Rohingya Muslims.

Human rights organizations insisted, however, that Burma's government act more forcefully to end the spasms of killing and destruction in the area. Human Rights Watch said the Rohingya "are under vicious attack" and in urgent need of government protection.

It released satellite photos showing extensive destruction in a predominantly Rohingya area of one of the townships where violence was reported this past week.

Burma state television reported that 67 people died, 95 were injured and 2,818 houses were burned from Sunday through Thursday in seven of Rakhine's townships.

Human Rights Watch said the Rohingya had suffered the brunt of the violence. It said the true death toll may be higher, based on witness accounts.

"These latest incidents between Muslim Rohingyas and Buddhists demonstrate how urgent it is that the authorities intervene to protect everyone, and break the cycle of discrimination and violence," Amnesty International's Asia-Pacific deputy director, Isabelle Arradon, said in a statement.

In June, ethnic violence in Rakhine killed at least 90 people and destroyed more than 3,000 homes. About 75,000 people have been living in refugee camps since then.

Ill will between the two ethnic groups goes back decades, and discrimination against the Rohingya was encouraged by Burma's previous military rulers to enlist popular support among other groups.

The Rohingya also face official discrimination. A 1984 law effectively deprives most Rohingya of citizenship and denies them many basic civil rights.

"Unless the authorities also start addressing the root causes of the violence, it is only likely to get worse," Human Rights Watch deputy Asia director Phil Robertson said in a statement.

Although many Rohingya have lived in Burma - also known as Myanmar - for generations, they are widely denigrated as intruders who came from Bangladesh to steal scarce land.

Latest from the SFGATE homepage:

Click below for the top news from around the Bay Area and beyond. Sign up for our newsletters to be the first to learn about breaking news and more. Go to 'Sign In' and 'Manage Profile' at the top of the page.